Entertainment
Trouble, controversies always follow me: Kamal Haasan
Chennai: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, who is busy promoting forthcoming Tamil release “Uttama Villain”, has wrestled with so many controversies over the years that he feels they follow him and will continue for the remainder of his career.
“Even till last week, we were fighting a case in connection with my film ‘Papanasam’. We know who filed the case, and from where. It’s like trouble and controversies always follow me,” Kamal told.
“I feel I’m always targeted. It has happened in the past too. For instance, people objected the title of my film ‘Mumbai Express’. They said the title wasn’t in Tamil, but what’s the Tamil word for Mumbai? In an earlier case, they didn’t let me name one of my films ‘Sandiyar’, and a few months ago, a film with the same name released. Why didn’t anybody object to it,” he asked.
Kamal’s recent release Tamil spy thriller “Vishwaroopam” was embroiled in controversies after Muslim groups felt they were portrayed in bad light.
The same film earned the wrath of the distributors after Kamal commissioned an idea to release the film via DTH platform on the day of theatrical release.
Haasan still swears by the DTH idea.
“It’s one of the other branches of film business. We have to do business in all directions,” said Haasan, who also blames the Central Board of Film Certification for curbing the freedom of speech.
“If I feel like saying something in the language I want, I have to write and get permission from the Board, like in the British times. But I am an artiste, I have all the rights to say what I want and also question them,” he added.
Kamal also has two more Tamil films “Papanasam” and “Vishwaroopam 2” in his kitty. He said even if these films release or get delayed, he will continue working.
“I can’t sit idle. I am always eager to give audiences good projects because they are expecting it from me,” he added.
The 60-year-old has already started work on his next Tamil project, a thriller said to be set against the backdrop of Mauritius.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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